2012 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1

Texas at Brownsville remains No. 1 after a 4-0 week

September 04, 2012

By -, -

By Travis Rae, Communications and Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Opening the season on a four game-winning streak, Texas at Brownsville remains the top ranked team in the First edition of the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Scorpions captured 19 of the 22 first-place votes and tallied 620 points to earn the No. 1 ranking.

Receiving the last three first-place votes was Concordia (Calif.) as the Eagles remain at No. 2. Collecting 577 points, Columbia (Mo.) stays at No. 3. Moving up from No. 5 in the preseason poll to No. 4 is Biola (Calif.), who is off to an 11-1 start this season. Embry-Riddle rounds out the top five with 534 points.

Seven teams that were not ranked in the preseason poll, No. 11 Doane (Neb.), No. 12 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 13 College of Idaho, No. 16 The Master's (Calif.), No. 19 Eastern Oregon, No. 22 Midland (Neb.), and No. 24 Lubbock Christian (Texas), all made the jump into the Top 25 week one poll. Making the biggest splash was Doane as it moved to No. 11 after not being in the preseason Top 25.

Rough starts by Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) have taken the preseason top 10 rated schools out of the Top 25.

Sixteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) with four ranked teams. Representing the GSAC are Concordia, Biola, No. 9 Westmont (Calif.) and The Master's.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Independents. The second regular-season poll will be announced on Sept. 11.

Notes: (All information as of 2000) Texas at Brownsville's 11 No. 1 rankings are the fourth-most all-time ... Former member, Fresno Pacific (Calif.), has the most No. 1 appearances with 70, followed by former member National American (S.D.) with 32 and Columbia (Mo.) with 20... Texas at Brownsville has been ranked No. 1 in 11 of the last 14 weeks... Seven teams who were not in the Preseason Coaches Top 25 poll jumped into the Week One poll... Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) dropped out of the poll and broke a string of 36-straight Top 25 nods... Concordia (Calif.) has the longest active streak in the Top 25 as it has been ranked for 74-straight polls; right behind Concordia is Biola (Calif.) as it has been ranked in 73-straight polls... Seven teams in the Top 25 remain undefeated.